Best Bang for the $$$ in GA books

[alecholland]

I would like to solicit the esteemed opinions of long time GA collectors on these boards in terms of best combination of art & story for the money.

 

Even though I have been collecting comics for a few years now, I am a newbie to GA comics. Over the last couple years however, I have really been drawn to this era of comic books, especially after seeing so many great books in the GA forum and the selling forum. I have been collecting mostly BA stuff from my childhood. My favorite BA titles are (in no particular order) Phantom Stranger, Swamp Thing, HOM, HOS, Star Spangled War Stories, Our Army at War, & Tarzan. I also like a few superhero titles from both Marvel (Spider-Man, Thor, DD) & DC (Superboy (LOSH), Batman), but I am mostly drawn to non-superhero titles.

 

Because of my taste in BA books, I am particularly drawn to pre-code horror as I know many others on the boards are as well. However, I like to try new things, so I am open to anything that has good art and would be enjoyable to read. Price is a bit of a factor, which is why I was asking about the most bang for the buck, but if it's something really worthwhile, I certainly don't mind spending a little more hefty amount.

 

So what do you guys suggest for a GA newbie on a somewhat limited budget? I am a blank slate as far as Golden Age comics are concerned.

[Scrooge]

Not GA per se but EC books are always great re: Quality to Price ratio. The prices aren't through the roof since many were produced and collected and the many reprints over the years have kept the price tamed. But I think you already know that.

[podboy66]

I am big fan of the Atlas precode books, in my mind its pretty hard to beat Everett and Maneely!! Some are pricey (Venus and Menace) but most in VG are very reasonable. Good Luck.

[SuperBird]

Fiction House are all great value for the buck, although they are more adventure / sci fi than horror.

 

agree on ECs, of course.

[alecholland]

Not GA per se but EC books are always great re: Quality to Price ratio. The prices aren't through the roof since many were produced and collected and the many reprints over the years have kept the price tamed. But I think you already know that.

 

Yeah, I originally thought I might try get some EC books, but I'm not sure now. Price-wise they are right in line with what I want to spend, but the fact that I can get reprints has actually made them less desirable to me if that makes any sense. Now I'm not sure what to do.

 

I was looking at books like The Thing, Mystic, Horrific, and many others at a local con this weekend, but because I don't know anything about anything, I didn't know what would actually be fun to read in addition to looking cool. I hate being drawn in by a cover with no substance on the inside. The art and stories on the inside are what is most important to me.

[alecholland]

Fiction House are all great value for the buck, although they are more adventure / sci fi than horror.

 

agree on ECs, of course.

 

What are some of the book titles? I know Planet Comics is one, which interests me, but I'm not really familiar with too many other titles. Jumbo Comics, Jungle Comics - are those Fiction House?

[Scrooge]

Not GA per se but EC books are always great re: Quality to Price ratio. The prices aren't through the roof since many were produced and collected and the many reprints over the years have kept the price tamed. But I think you already know that.

 

Yeah, I originally thought I might try get some EC books, but I'm not sure now. Price-wise they are right in line with what I want to spend, but the fact that I can get reprints has actually made them less desirable to me if that makes any sense. Now I'm not sure what to do.

 

I was looking at books like The Thing, Mystic, Horrific, and many others at a local con this weekend, but because I don't know anything about anything, I didn't know what would actually be fun to read in addition to looking cool. I hate being drawn in by a cover with no substance on the inside. The art and stories on the inside are what is most important to me.

 

I'm right there with you. I am an avid reprint collector. Why pay original prices when I can get 6 issues collected in color in a HC for less than the price of one original comic. I do this because like you I am more interesting by the stories.

 

Unfortunately, while ECs have consistently go interior line-ups, other publishers do not!! ... hence unless you've had the chance to peruse through a book, you can never be sure of which to get (I have reached that point as far as Atlas War books go: I won't buy any random issue of Young Men for example unless there is a superior story in it which there rarely is in that title). It seems you need to get a set of Tales Too Terrible To Tell before you start buying more Pre-Code. A set is cheap and offers plenty of insights into which issues from each publisher to pursue for its interior stories.

 

I do agree that Fiction House books are generally a bargain, esp. post WWII issues. The art is always pleasant but generally one does not need more than a few select issues since the stories are repetitive and usually unimaginative.

[Scrooge]

When it comes to GA books, I think people dismiss too casually the early issue of Smash and Crack Comics. The art inside is superior in quality to other companies' but the covers can be lackluster.

[alecholland]

It seems you need to get a set of Tales Too Terrible To Tell before you start buying more Pre-Code. A set is cheap and offers plenty of insights into which issues from each publisher to pursue for its interior stories.

 

Thank you! I will definitely take a look at those.

[Comicdey]

I'd say there's so many different genres for you to look at.

 

I agree that Fiction house are always wonderful.

 

In addition I recommend these esoteric titles

 

Supersnipe (Street and Smith)

Shadow (Street and Smith)

Fox Titles are great like Jo Jo, Zoot, Zago All Top etc.

Bomber 1-4

Early Pep's are very cool

 

 

I could go on and on...

[SuperBird]

Fiction House are all great value for the buck, although they are more adventure / sci fi than horror.

 

agree on ECs, of course.

 

What are some of the book titles? I know Planet Comics is one, which interests me, but I'm not really familiar with too many other titles. Jumbo Comics, Jungle Comics - are those Fiction House?

 

Jumbo, Jungle, Fight, Rangers, Wings, and Planet are the main ones. They can mostly be had for under $100 a book in low/mid grade*. While the stories are not mind-bending, they are good solid adventure stufff, and the art ranges from good to GREAT, depending on the story.

 

* I built a run of planets this way

[alecholland]

I'd say there's so many different genres for you to look at.

 

I agree that Fiction house are always wonderful.

 

In addition I recommend these esoteric titles

 

Supersnipe (Street and Smith)

Shadow (Street and Smith)

Fox Titles are great like Jo Jo, Zoot, Zago All Top etc.

Bomber 1-4

Early Pep's are very cool

 

 

I could go on and on...

 

Please do go on and on!

 

I saw a few issues of Supersnipe this weekend. It's about a boy who has the most comic books in the world - is that correct? It did pique my curiosity.

[seank]

I recommend you stay away from Fiction House, at least until I manage to acquire the issues I'm looking for. But for FH pre-code horror, you may want to check out Ghosts. Great Whitman covers. I have one issue and the stories were so-so, but I'm not a pre-code enthusiast and many horror comics leave me cold so I'm not the best person to get an opinion from on that front.

 

From what I've read of Smash and Exciting, they're pretty good. I mosly have the Xela airbrush covers (which are great) but the insides are fairly readable. Mostly action/adventure though.

 

For ECs, I recommend the new hardback reprints. They can be had for about $35 each from Amazon and feature the in-house ads as well as the letter pages in addition to the stories and covers.

 

 

[alecholland]

How about Airboy? I talked with one dealer this weekend who said if I like Swamp Thing, I might want to check out Airboy comics with stories about The Heap.

[alecholland]

I recommend you stay away from Fiction House, at least until I manage to acquire the issues I'm looking for.

 

So, Fiction House it is. I'm going to Ebay right now and start putting bids in on every book I can find.

 

 

[Timely]

If you like horror try This Magazine is Haunted. There are many inexpensive Charlton titles from the 50's with nice art & stories.

 

West

[VintageComics]

Another good publisher is Nedors. I'm biased because my comic collecting revolves around superheros and have only read one but thought it was decently written for it's era and the artwork is not bad either. Very affordable compared to Timelys...to me it's almost like the middle class man's Timely. Great covers, good stories.

 

R.

 

 

[seank]

Another good publisher is Nedors. I'm biased because my comic collecting revolves around superheros and have only read one but thought it was decently written for it's era and the artwork is not bad either. Very affordable compared to Timelys...to me it's almost like the middle class man's Timely. Great covers, good stories.

 

R.

 

 

Not directed to R, but speaking of the post-1961 superhero bias, be prepared to set that aside when exploring GA. It covers every genre and then some. As much as I love my GGA, I often find myself distracted by interesting war and western stuff. DC reprints from the 1970s - DC Special, 100 pagers, etc. - are a great way to see some fantastic GA stuff dirt cheap. Once you've read a Toth western or a Heath war story, there's no going back.

[buttock]

If you want quality stuff, you need to look at the companies with staying power.

 

DC & Quality will give you the best illustration art on average. Quality really put out some nice stuff in the late WWII period. DC had great stuff in Adventure (Burnley, S&K) and surprisingly nice stuff in their 50s westerns.

 

Fiction House hasn't been too appealing to me due to the homogeneity of virtually all titles. The covers, stories, etc are hard to tell apart. The art was generally good, but not great.

 

ME (Magazine Enterprises) is an underrated publisher from the 50s with a broad variety of genres and generally above average art that's not too hard to find (Frazetta, Powell off the top of my head)

 

Atlas is very hit or miss, but the pre-code stuff was way better than the post-code. I suppose that's true for most publishers.

 

I like the Nedors, but I've found their interior art to be subpar.

 

Timely is really hit or miss (in my limited experience) on the interiors - and a lot of the art that was interesting wasn't necessarily "good". But I've only owned a few, so don't take my word for it.

 

Just don't buy Atlas war. There's nothing good to be found there. Nothing.

[Norrin_Radd]

Well since you mentioned Batman, I guess that is justification enough to reiterate something I've mentioned before.

 

Every time I re-read Detective Comics #66 through #70 in my Batman Archive (which I just did again last week), I am reminded of how great that short run is and I find myself compelled to collect them. Those five issues feature the first two appearances of Two-Face, a quintessential Penguin story (and cover), a classic Joker story (and cover), and another cool story (and cover).

 

They are pricey, of course, but it's a gem of a run well worth collecting.